Castela senticosa (Simaroubaceae: Sapindales), a New Species from the Caribbean Clade Endemic to Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest on Hispaniola

Abstract— Recent fieldwork in the Sierra Martín García in southwestern Dominican Republic has yielded a new species of the American clade Castela (Simaroubaceae), Castela senticosa sp. nov., from seasonally dry tropical forest. This species has been collected from two separate localities, including Môle St. Nicolas in northwestern Haiti in 1929, but until now fertile material with both flowers and fruit was unknown. We provide a photographic plate and illustration, place it phylogenetically using plastome data, and compare it morphologically with close relatives. This increases the number of known species of Castela on Hispaniola from one to two, both of which are endemic but from different clades, and yields another species for the Greater Antilles, a known biodiversity hotspot and clear center of diversification for this group of arid-adapted, thorny shrubs. This work emphasizes that seasonally dry, tropical forests, although often understudied, house as yet undiscovered biodiversity and deserve far more comprehensive studies.

Evaluate the impact of optical axis stability on the exoplanet detection

For detecting exoplanets with high precision, using the angular distance between the two stars to detect the periodic motion of the star will be a better choice. This approach can avoid importing the position error of the reference catalog in the process that using the traditional photographic plate to derive the star position. At the precision level of microarcseconds, the error caused by optical axis deviation is not negligible. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of the stability of the optical axis on the relative angular distance measurement from the aspects of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. When the angular distance error limit of 1~microarcsecond is given, the upper limit of optical axis deviation is estimated to be 68~milliarcsecond. In addition, when limiting the deviation of the optical axis, we give the corresponding error allowance of angular distance measurement. Moreover, we also discuss the way to resolve the problem of CCD distortion and focal length change on the measurement of angular distance. The work in this paper is of guiding significance to the design of the telescope.

Indigofera wenholdiae (Indigofereae, Fabaceae), a new species from the Western Cape Province, South Africa

In this study, Indigofera wenholdiae, a new species of Fabaceae from the Agulhas Plain Region of the Western Cape Province, South Africa, is described. A composite photographic plate is included along with a distribution map, description of habitat and ecology and proposed IUCN conservation status. Indigofera wenholdiae is unique in the I. brachystachya group by having digitately compound (vs. pinnately compound) leaves, white and unscented flowers (vs. pink and sweetly scented flowers) and grows on sandstone hillsides (vs. coastal limestone plains and outcrops).

Exploring nine simultaneously occurring transients on April 12th 1950

Nine point sources appeared within half an hour on a region within $$\sim $$ ∼ 10 arcmin of a red-sensitive photographic plate taken in April 1950 as part of the historic Palomar Sky Survey. All nine sources are absent on both previous and later photographic images, and absent in modern surveys with CCD detectors which go several magnitudes deeper. We present deep CCD images with the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias, reaching brightness $$r \sim 26$$ r ∼ 26 mag, that reveal possible optical counterparts, although these counterparts could equally well be just chance projections. The incidence of transients in the investigated photographic plate is far higher than expected from known detection rates of optical counterparts to e.g. flaring dwarf stars, Fast Radio Bursts, Gamma Ray Bursts or microlensing events. One possible explanation is that the plates have been subjected to an unknown type of contamination producing mainly point sources with of varying intensities along with some mechanism of concentration within a radius of $$\sim $$ ∼ 10 arcmin on the plate. If contamination as an explanation can be fully excluded, another possibility is fast (t $$<0.5$$ < 0.5 s) solar reflections from objects near geosynchronous orbits. An alternative route to confirm the latter scenario is by looking for images from the First Palomar Sky Survey where multiple transients follow a line.

Acrolejeunea Aulacophora (Marchantiophyta), New to Asia from the Western Ghats

Acrolejeunea aulacophora (Mont.) Steph. is recorded for the first time in Asia. It was earlier known from Africa, Australia and New Caledonia. A detailed description with figures and a photographic plate is provided.

Bulbophyllum spathulatum (Orchidaceae), a new record for Bhutan

Bulbophyllum spathulatum (Orchidaceae), a native to Eastern Himalaya, China, and Indochina is recorded from Bhutan for the first time. Detailed morphological descriptions, distribution, phenology, and ecology along with colour photographic plate are provided.

Initiative Program for Digitalization of Photographic Plate Archives at the Central Research Institute of Film Materials and Artificial Leathers [1960th – 1980th]

"Initiative Program for Digitalization of Photographic Plate Archives at the Central Research Institute of Film Materials and Artificial Leathers [1960th – 1980th]": Инициативный проект по оцифровке фотопластинок (микроскопии и электронографии) прекратившего своё существование института. Данные материалы (характеризующие факт прекращения деятельности института, а также работы, потерявшие актуальность в связи с этим) получены на стадии утилизации оборудования и были оцифрованы в рамках благотворительной программы оцифровки и реставрации научного наследия, инициированной при группе биофизического приборостроения Адамовичем Е.Д. и руководителем группы. В рамках данного тренда OCR станция на оборудовании для оцифровки слайдов и микрофишей произвела экспресс-сканирование этих пластинок и устаревших фотоэмульсионных носителей низкой светочувствительности по ГОСТ. Реставрация и ввод в научно-архивный цикл осуществлены через БД, локализованную на зарубежных серверах, в частности - IЕEЕ, допускающих депонирование результатов НИР. В настоящее время проект приостановлен в силу COVID и кадрового дефицита в коллективе инициаторов.